Adventures in Moab

One of the reason's we live in Colorado is because of all the wonderful outdoor activities we have access to. But, some times we like to venture outside of Colorado to enjoy the different landscapes of surrounding states. We just got back from our first camping trip of the season in Moab, Utah.

If you have ever visited Moab or know anything about it, you know how beautiful and magical of a place it is. If you haven't visited, I have to tell you, it is one of those places that just makes you go oooo and ahhhh and oh my, look at that, isn't that incredible.

Moab is a place Andy and I visited quite often when we were in our 20's (makes me sound old, doesn't it). I remember getting all of our friends together for a few wild weekends of camping in the desert...this was before kids, so I think wild is a good word to describe it...four wheeling, a game of kickball in the sand, lots of food and drink, and I even recall a slip and slide on a rainy night making an appearance.

We have so many fond memories of this magical place and have not been there for about 7 years (partly because we live farther away, but mostly because we started having kids), so we decided it was time to revisit one of our favorite places on the planet!

We have done a fair amount of camping since we have had kids and have gone through a lot of trial and error to figure out how to make things run smooth. This season we decided the kids were ready to go a bit farther out of our comfort zone and make the almost 7 hour trip to Moab. And we were right!

The car ride was a breeze, the kids entertained themselves at the campground, and the trips into the National Parks were exciting for all of us. Our first camping trip of the season was less than wild, but was so much fun and I predict many more of these family adventures to come in the next few months!

Adventures in Moab

Tree Huggin' Tuesday: Reusing Packing Supplies

We are very proud of what we have accomplished with Hip Mountain Mama. We have created a business that we truly believe in and that we can be proud to tell others about. Lately, I have been asked by multiple people "What makes your business green?" After answering that question a couple of times I realized that we do an awful lot beyond just selling and actively promoting green products like cloth diapers, reusable bags, reusable utensils, organic cotton toys, hemp clothing, and more.

We purchase wind power for our home and business space, print our Packing Slips and Shipping Labels on half sheets of paper to reduce waste, purchase recycled paper, print our business cards and marketing materials on recycled paper, and use CFL Bulbs.

But the coolest thing that we are doing, which we recommend you do in your area, is that we ship our packages with reused shipping supplies that we receive from other businesses in town. In fact in almost two years of being in business and hundreds of orders shipped, we have never purchased packing peanuts or bubble wrap. We have had to purchase some boxes and envelopes for specific sizes that we use a lot of but still we have saved a lot of used packaging from the landfill.

We have a great system set up with other local business owners. Our friends at Sage Holistic Health save all of the boxes, packing peanuts, and bubble wrap that they receive from suppliers of their vitamins and supplements. These small boxes are the perfect size for many of our products. We also have other friends and business owners saving supplies for us and our hope is that our customers are reusing the packaging and boxes that we send out to them.

You might assume that just recycling boxes is the best thing to do, but there is actually a lot of energy that goes into recycling a box. In our area a box that is recycled is picked up by the city and driven out to the county landfill. There it is sorted and shipped to another recycling site in Denver, then it is sorted again and shipped to an actual recycling plant which is often located out of the state and sometimes even out of the country. Then there is the energy used in the actual recycling process. There is an awful lot of fossil fuels burned for something as simple as recycling a box.

If we can take the boxes from one business or person and reuse it in its current state then we are not only saving money but also saving a lot of resources. Obviously, recycling is a lot better than throwing something away but consider saving your boxes and other waste that could be used by other people or businesses. If we all learn to work together we can make these small changes to be green together.

~Andy

Tree Huggin' Tuesday: Reusing Packing Supplies

Inspiring Mama:: Anni Daulter, Author of Organically Raised

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a preview of the latest children's cookbook, Organically Raised. This book has so many amazing recipes for babies and kids that the whole family is going to love. Anni is truly an inspiration and is filling a need with her new book that will make healthy cooking for our children so fun and easy!

Organically Raised will be released on May 11th and is sure to become a staple in every family's household. If you would like to be entered into a drawing for a free copy of Organically Raised, please leave a comment here. For additional entries tweet, face book, email your friends and become a fan of Organically Raised on Face Book.

And to pre order your own copy, you can visit their website, Organically Raised Cookbook.

Now, please pull up a chair and get to know Anni:

Suzy: Thank you so much for sharing with us today Anni.

Anni: My pleasure. Thank you for taking the time to interview me.

Suzy: Anni, can you tell us a little bit about your self and how you got interested in organic foods?

Anni: I am a mother of 3 amazing kids, Zoe (12) Lotus (5) & Bodhi (3) and am pregnant with my 4^th child now (due May 12^th), married to an amazing man Tim, am an author, eco-activist and the founder of Conscious Family Living.

My children inspired me to be interested in eating better, living more green and natural and simplifying our lives by reducing our footprint on mother earth!

Suzy: Why did you decide to write Organically Raised and what was your inspiration and/or driving force in doing so?

Anni: Twelve years ago, when my first son, Zoë, was a baby, I realized that the options for baby food were limited and their only appeal was their convenience. I was determined to make all of my son’s food from scratch using ingredients from the local farmers’ market. The problem was, I did not know how to cook! I slowly taught myself in the ins and outs of baby-food making, did research on nutrition, experimented with many successful and not-so-successful recipes, and subsequently learned a lot about the joys and challenges of cooking for babies. What I realized through it all was that as a mom, I really did want the absolute best for my baby, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

I knew that other parents felt the way I did, especially in regard to nutrition and food. Thus, with the birth of my second child, Lotus, my own baby food company—Bohemian Baby Fresh Organic Baby Food—was also born. I began by writing down some of my children’s favorite recipes and feeding all the babies I knew. Bohemian Baby was created out of my desire to help busy parents feed their babies the best possible foods in the most convenient way. I wanted to make foods that were fresh, organic, and reflective of different cultural cuisines. Most important, I wanted to produce foods that tasted great! When I saw that babies were falling in love with my food, I knew I was onto something. As my passion for food grew, so did my understanding of how important it is to respect and honor the art of cooking, even when the meal might consist of only a single-ingredient puree. Before I became a mother, Buddhist monks taught me that “conscious cooking” is the art of preparing meals with awareness and presence, which infuses the food with higher energy. This spiritual education taught me how to pour love into every recipe and bring my mind to a calm awareness when I cook so that I always remember to care for and appreciate those around me. Food can nurture more than your body; when prepared with positive intentions, it can feed the soul. Recently, I’ve used the lessons and insights I’ve gained from these experiences to develop even more helpful tools for parents on my Conscious Family Living Web site. Please visit me regularly to learn all kinds of natural parenting tips at ConsciousFamilyLiving.com

Suzy: What can parents expect to learn from your book and why is it so important for parents to have this resource at hand?

Anni: Parents will firstly get great recipes! They will also get the most updated information and resources on eco-friendly and conscious parenting practices. Mostly, I hope they take away from the book that cooking for your family, of all ages can be fun, easy and rewarding!

Suzy: There is much debate on what parents should feed their babies as a first food. In your opinion, what is the best first food for babies?

Anni: Organic Fresh fruit & Veggie purees! There is really no need to start babies on bland rice cereal. Babies will get enough iron from mama’s milk, and its important for their first foods to be delightful to them. We want them coming back for more. Also, remember that solid food is only a supplement to mama’s milk up until age one. This is a test drive before age one and so follow your baby’s cues and take your time.

Suzy: And, lastly, can you share with us one of your favorite recipes out of your book?

Anni: (You can find this and other great recipes in Organically Raised)

mackenzie’s superstar sweet potato cakes with sour cream

Every toddler and grown-up who has ever tasted these cakes absolutely loves them. Made from the delicious sweet potato, the cakes melt in the mouth. These are even great cold the next day or as a midnight snack for a breastfeeding mama!

Makes 8 servings

• 1 medium garnet yam (sweet potato)
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes or 2 large russet
• potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon wheat germ
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 3 tablespoons unbleached or all-purpose
• flour

1. Peel and dice the potatoes and place them in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Drain the potatoes and let them cool.

2. Peel and dice the yam into 1-inch pieces. Steam the yams for 20 minutes, or until soft.

3. Place the yams and potatoes in a large bowl. Mash until well mixed and only a little lumpiness remains. Set aside.

4. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over low heat. Add the onion, salt, pepper, and wheat germ. Cook until the onion is soft and begins to brown. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat. Add to the potato mixture.

5. Beat the eggs and cream together in a mixing bowl. Stir them into the potato mixture along with the cheeses and flour.

6. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat or set a nonstick electric skillet to 375˚F. Flatten 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into a round cake and place in the skillet. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cook the cakes for 5 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms on each side.

7. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream as a dipping sauce.

Suzy: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to share your wisdom with us!

Anni: Thank you!

Isn't she just amazing?! I know you are going to love this book! Don't forget to leave a comment here for a chance to win a free copy and check out their website to pre order yours today! The winner will be announced Saturday April 3rd.

Congratulations Twinsanity for winning a copy of Organically Raised!!

Inspiring Mama:: Anni Daulter, Author of Organically Raised

Feature Friday: Hippie Wallets

We first discovered Natural Life products when we were poking around a downtown Salida, CO craft store. We were drawn to the positive sayings on the products and Suzy was especially fond of the wallets. Peace signs, owls, little birdies...how can any earth lovin' Mama resist!


We quickly brought these wallets into the shop and the Canvas Hippie Wallets and the Hinged Hippie Wallets grew to be one of our most popular items. These wallets are sure to catch your attention with such bright, bold, and fun colors...and you've got to love the positive messages and cute designs!

Each Wallet has an inspiring saying or phrase. The choices of Hinged Hippie Wallets include "Be Happy, Be Free", "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World", "Imagine Peace", "Live Simply", "Love", and "Let it Be". And the Canvas Hippie Wallet choices are "Peace, Love, Happiness", "Live the Life You Love, Love the Life you Live", and "If You Have Faith, You Have Hope, If You Have Hope, You Have Everything".

These wallets have plenty of room inside and will make a fun, peaceful, and positive way to carry your belongings. It is sure to put a smile on your face every time you pull it out of your purse. They aren't just cute and fun but they are also very functional with 6 cardholders, 2 cash pockets, an ID window, a zippered pocket, a built-in mirror and a kiss lock closure.

To help make this fun purchase a little easier for you Hip Mountain Mama is offering $4.00 Off each Natural Life Hippie Wallet from now through Thursday April 1, 2010. Take advantage of this great sale price on these unique wallets.

Feature Friday: Hippie Wallets

Shoe Party

I starting realizing the other day why our family shoe closet starts to drive me crazy this time of year. The shoes start piling up as we all start to break out our flip flops and store them in the closet by the front door. This would be fine, except the closet is still filled with our snow boots and tennis shoes making for a huge pile up of an all weather all activity shoe party.

You never know what you are going to get on a March day in Colorado. Anything goes...barefoot in the river one day to snow boots the next. I love it!

Yesterday was actually a snow day, meaning all the kids were off school. So, on this sunny snowy day we had a few neighborhood kids over to play. Andy built the girls a snow fort complete with tunnel and window. Before you knew it everything was melting and the girls were down to their t shirts.

A fun way to spend a Wednesday!!

~~Suzy

**If you have a chance, I would love it if you stopped by One Small Change to read a post written by Andy. It is a beautiful post about guiding and educating our children on caring for our Earth.

Shoe Party

Making Hankies Pretty

We have been using these organic cotton hankies for a few years now and LOVE them! So soft on our noses and we love the reduction in waste by not using disposable Kleenexes. For the past week Sienna has had a cold and has been carrying around a hankie in her pocket. It truly is adorable to see a 3 year old reach into her pocket, pull out a hankie, wipe her nose, then put it back in her pocket.

The hankies really are great, but a little plain with their natural color and hard to figure out who is using which hankie (the kids really get grossed out when they realize they wiped their nose with their sister's dirty hankie). So, Magnolia and I decided to add some flair and personality. Magnolia is a huge fan of doing anything with a sewing needle, so embroidering some designs on the hankies was the perfect solution.

The designs the kids chose were (the usual) sun, heart, peace sign, rainbow, and Magnolia wanted to write her name. We finished a few this week and hope to get to some more next week, as well as add some designs to our cloth napkins.

This was so much fun and such a great way to relax and connect with my daughter!

Making Hankies Pretty

Tree Huggin' Tuesday: Enjoying Nature

We spend so much time and effort trying to tread light on Mother Earth that sometimes we forget to actually get out and enjoy her beauty. Having an online business requires many hours spent on the computer and a lot of our effort is trying to spread the word on simple and sustainable living. Through our Tree Huggin' Tuesday we have discussed many ways to reduce our carbon footprint and to be a little kinder to our Earth, but today I wanted to remind everyone to get out and enjoy Mother Earth!
There are many things you can do to get outside and have fun that really don't require much money or planning. One of our favorite things to do as a family is to find a river and just play. The kids run around skipping rocks and on warm days shed their shoes to soak their feet, while Mama enjoys sitting and listening to the calming effects of the rushing water.

We are also huge camping fans, which actually does require some planning, but getting out into nature for 2-3 days in a row can really do wonders for the whole family! If you have never gone camping, I would highly recommend it...talk to friends or shoot me an email if you aren't sure of where to go or what to bring!

Whether you are hard core outdoors enthusiasts or just like to go for the occasional walk, I encourage you to pay attention to your natural surroundings. Pay attention to the birds, bugs, plants, and notice how harmonious everything flows together. Always remember to treat Mother Earth with respect by not littering, staying on trails, and read signs to know what the rules are in the area you are visiting.

Some Ideas For Enjoying Nature:

Visit nearby Hot Springs
Hike/Nature Walk

Hang out near a river or lake for a day...plan a picnic, bring beach toys

Visit a local farm and meet the animals
Play around in a nearby National Park
Plan a camping trip
Pack a Picnic and go to a local park
Go to the beach and collect sea shells

~~Suzy

Tree Huggin' Tuesday: Enjoying Nature

We Garden

I started the weekend off by experiencing the wisdom and inspiration of Joel Salatin. I had learned of Joel after watching Food Inc. and became really intrigued (or you might say obsessed) with him. When I heard he was coming to speak in my area I was very excited and ready to hear his inspiring and motivating words. I came away from the event completely dedicated to growing as much of my own food as possible, supporting local farms, and buying local whenever possible.

So, I have to admit, I am not the one with the green thumb in my family. 9 years ago I couldn't keep a house plant alive and never dreamed I would ever try to grow my food. In fact our first veggie garden came about quite by accident....

A few years ago Andy built a large 8x8 sand box for Magnolia. She enjoyed her sand box, but after a while we started to notice little presents being left for us by the neighborhood cats. The thought of my kids playing in a box of sand that the cats used as a potty grossed me out. So we dug out the sand and filled it with soil, planted some seeds, and our very first veggie garden was born.

Over the next few years we added another raised bed and experimented with new veggies. This year we have decided to add 2 more raised beds (and yes I know our house is on the market, but when you get the gardening bug, there is no holding back).

We woke up on Sunday to our gardens covered with snow. By 3:00 the snow had melted and we enjoyed sitting on the porch plotting out our new gardening adventure, while fighting over who got to read our newly purchased book, "The Backyard Homestead".

I am so excited for this growing season and for learning more about this natural, age old, and perfectly harmonious activity of growing what I eat! Even though I don't have the "green thumb" in the family my desire to eat healthy, local, and nutritious food far outweighs any doubts I have that I can eventually turn my thumb green!

We Garden

Inspiring Mama:: Lisa Delzer of Visionary Mom & A Giveaway!

I am so excited to introduce you Lisa Delzer! I met Lisa on MDC over a year ago and we quickly discovered we both had a love of the simple life. I have followed Lisa's blog since then and have found a lot of inspiration from her. Lisa recently told me some very exciting news and I just knew I wanted to include her in my Inspiring Mama series. Enjoy the interview and make sure you check out the end for details on the giveaway!

Lisa Delzer is a mother, a dreamer, a writer, a speaker, a retreat organizer, and a cheerleader for big dreams. Her blog, VisionaryMom.com is a place for mothers to find inspiration, encouragement and support to pursue their dreams and passions.

Suzy: Lisa I was so excited to hear about your plans to travel around this summer! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your family and what your travel plans are?

Lisa: My husband, Don, and I have been married for almost 6 years. We have two children, Enrique is 5 and Anabel is 2. We just moved into an RV and plan to travel full time starting in June. You can read about our travel adventures on our blog: www.WeAreTheDelzers.com. This has been a dream of ours for a long time and with the creation of Visionary Mom and my own need to live my dreams, we are now making it happen. We are really excited to homeschool our kids, teaching them about life while being out there in the world meeting and talking to all kinds of different people. We plan to travel for as long as we are still loving it. Right now, just downsizing everything and simplifying our life has been so thrilling. We literally got rid of pretty much every thing we own and are learning how to live in this small space. It is really fun!

Suzy: What is Visionary Mom and why did you create it?

Lisa: I created Visionary Mom because I kept coming across mothers who were feeling kind of disconnected from who they used to be before becoming a mom. I was feeling that way also, wanting to explore my own creativity and my passions, wanting to find something to do with myself that was inspiring to me. Before I became a mom, I worked as a coach and program leader helping people to live lives that they love. I stopped doing that when I became a mom and all my focus shifted toward taking care of my babies. I love being a mom, but I also missed working with people. After spending some time thinking about what I wanted to do, one day it hit me.. I should work with moms! I love motherhood and I also love it when people do things that they love, when they are truly expressing themselves and living with passion. So, why not combine all my experience with coaching people with my love of motherhood. This to me is the most awesome way for me to express myself. I get to be a cheerleader for all these inspiring moms to do things that they love, to express themselves and to feel empowered. I love what I do and I love that I get to do it on my terms and in my own way.

What I offer at Visionary Mom:

A place for moms to come and find inspiration. Right now I am doing weekly interviews with some really inspiring moms who are living their dreams and taking care of their kiddos. They have found a way too balance it all and make it work. I offer personal coaching and personalized e-courses. The e-courses are a great way to get one on one coaching but without having to schedule phone calls into your busy schedule, everything is done via email. This summer we will have our first ever Visionary Mom Retreat. It will be held over 3 days in Colorado and is intended to give moms a chance to reconnect to themselves, to recharge their batteries, to be with other amazing mothers and to create what it is that they want for their life.

And, I am putting together my first group e-course. It is called “Make a Plan” and is designed to walk you through the planning process of making your BIG dream come true. Whatever that may be. During this 4 week course, you will look at what your big dream is, getting it clear so you know what you want to make happen. We will then look at what it will take to make that dream a reality and get a powerful plan in place so that you complete the course in action, making your dream come true. I know that finding the time to work on our own dreams can be tricky, so this course will help you figure out how to squeeze it in without neglecting your mama duties. The course starts on April 19^th and costs only $45. If you register early, by March 23^rd, the tuition is only $38. More info can be found here.

Suzy: This all sounds so amazing! Thanks, Lisa, for sharing this with us!

The Giveaway:

Lisa is giving away one spot in the “Make a Plan” course to a reader of Hip Mountain Mama. To enter, leave a comment here saying what big dream you would like to get started on.

The winner will be announced Friday March 26th!

Additional entries:

Visit Visionary Mom and leave a comment on this post with what big dream you would like to get started on. Come back here and leave a comment that you did.

Become a fan of Visioinary Mom on facebook then come back here and leave a comment that you did.

Follow Lisa on twitter and tweet about this giveaway.

Congratulations Maeghan of Green Acres in the City for winning!

Inspiring Mama:: Lisa Delzer of Visionary Mom & A Giveaway!

Giveaway News

Happy Spring! I hope everyone has lovely Spring plans to enjoy this wonderful day!

Now on to the news...First of all I wanted to let everyone know about a giveaway going on over at One Small Change. Stephanie of Gypsy Forest is giving away a set of her hand made produce bags. Please pop over to One Small Change for details and to enter the contest!

Next...I am excited to announce the winner of a signed copy of Jamie Martin's book, Steady Days.

Congratulations...Pinecone304

pinecone304 said...
"I have been following Jamie's blog for a while and have really gleaned a lot from her. I would love a chance to win her book."

Thanks everyone for entering!

Giveaway News